


.. And to the Left

by orphan_account



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Dancing, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2014-11-28
Packaged: 2018-02-27 08:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2685251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Catelyn teaches a slightly resistant Brienne how to dance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	.. And to the Left

Brienne stood in the middle of the bedchamber, some distance from the bed, brow furrowed with anxious displeasure.

"My lady," she began, "is it really necessary that I-"

Catelyn cut her off.  "Yes, it is.  You are the Lady of Tarth as well as its Lord, occupying the seat held by your father, Selwyn, and wielding the power that comes with it.  With this power comes the responsibility-"  She paused, giving Brienne a teasing poke in the ribs.  "-however unpleasant- to strike a proper courtly presence."

Brienne allowed her scowl to crack ever so slightly, and the little smile that shone through was warm sunshine to Catelyn's eyes.  She let her gaze rest on Brienne's handsome face for a moment, and held out her hand.  "Now," Catelyn continued briskly.  "I shall lead once, to show you the steps, and then you will try to lead --if you think you can."

Brienne rearranged herself back to a mock scowl, and took Catelyn's hand.  "My cheeky Catelyn," she chided, " _you_ are the Lady of Tarth now, remember."

"As you say, my lord," she teased.  "Now."  She took Brienne's free hand and placed it on her shoulder, then slid her arm around Brienne's waist, drawing her close.  "They always play a volta at the banquets in King's Landing and so we shall begin with that.  And the steps go one, two, three, and then to the left..."

Brienne's heart sped up a bit at her lady's closeness, and the cool scent of her perfume that smelt of herbs, flower stems, green things, and the woods at night.  Catelyn's firm, gentle strength never ceased to surprise her, no matter that they had been together for well nigh two years.  She allowed herself to be led through the first combination of steps, which she shuffled along with dutifully until she stepped gracelessly on one of Catelyn's toes, drawing a sharp breath from her lady.

"Ah! See what this oaf has done!" Brienne exclaimed with great distress.  She began to kneel to inspect Catelyn's foot, but Cat's hands found her face and urged her back up.

"I'll not hear you say such things," Cat scolded.  "I bore five children into the World, I assure you, a little toe-stub is nothing." She again slid her arm around Brienne's waist and Brienne could feel the warmth of her hand at the small of her back. "Now let's go again."  

"I am ususally pleased to hear you say those words, but not today," Brienne complained, placing her hand on Cat's shoulder. The last time her lady had uttered them, her cheeks had been deliciously flushed, her crimson hair thoroughly mussed, her low, smoky voice breathy...

Catelyn replied primly, "I do not take your meaning, Evenstar." But her blue eyes betrayed a naughty twinkle. "Now. One, two, three, and to the left."

Again, she peppered Brienne with encouragement as she swept her through the steps. Brienne had long since given up on dancing, resigned that the only grace she possessed came to her when she had a sword in hand. But this time she managed well enough, only stepping on the hem of Catelyn's gown one or two times, and achieving the minor victory of not stepping on her feet at all.

"Good. Would you like to try leading, now?"

Brienne was skeptical, but Cat's brisk, affectionate pushing convinced her to try. She kissed Cat's hand and then held it as Cat had held hers a moment ago, sliding her other arm around her lady's waist. As she pulled her nearer and adjusted her own footing, her eyes drifted down to Catelyn's collarbone, and the little pendant that rested just above her bosom.

"My eyes are up here, Evenstar," Cat scolded, but her tone was quite clear, and it said that she did not mind a bit.

Brienne looked up at those eyes, brilliant as tourmaline, and smiled crookedly, laying a kiss upon her lips. "I shall remember it," she promised, so overserious that they both chuckled. She then counted off the beats, and began attempting to lead Catelyn through the steps as she had just been shown.

Twice they stumbled a bit and once nearly fell, Brienne's feet becoming tripped up among her lady's skirts.  Her reflexes were sufficient to steady them both and keep them both off off the floor, but the same could hardly be said of her pride.  She flushed a bit, and tried to suggest that perhaps they ought to be done for today, but Catelyn was having none of it.  She maneuvered them a few feet to the left, and insisted that they try again.

Brienne was hardly in the mood until she glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Cat had maneuvered them a few feet closer to the bed.  With fresh resolve, she gripped her lady's hand and, pausing to kiss her once more, this time warmly on the cheek just beside her mouth, drew her close again.  "Kindly count me in, my lady?"

"One and two and three..."

Brienne counted the steps, one, two, three, and then to the left.  And then one, two, three, and to the left, and again, glancing over her shoulder, realizing that with perhaps one more set like this, she could-

Her feet again became tripped up in Catelyn's skirts and they stumbled, as if drunk, in a weavy loop across the thick, blue rug, landing in a heap on their very large bed, Brienne sprawled on her back with Catelyn flopped atop her.

"See what this oaf has done," she said again, more softly this time.

Cat, surveying their situation, looked at her Evenstar's sapphire eyes sparkling with mischief. "This oaf has got better footwork than she lets on," she purred, lowering her head into a soft kiss that Brienne eagerly returned. 

Brienne allowed a little sigh to escape as she felt Cat melting into her, felt her warm lips brushing down her chin, down her throat. "My lady," she sighed.

Cat smiled. "My Evenstar.". Her fingers slipped nimbly over the fastenings of Brienne's green doublet, flicking them open as she continued working down her neck. 

Brienne unpinned Cat's hair, loving her deep red waves spilling down her shoulders. "But my lady," she whispered heavily in a mock protest, "our lesson..."

But Cat was already unlacing Brienne's shift, leaving a trail of kisses between her breasts, murmuring: "i believe you have learnt plenty today. One-" Kiss. "Two." Kiss. "Three." A third kiss.

"And to the left," Brienne sighed, wondering how she might find time for such a lesson every day.


End file.
